The Spreepark, a former amusement park in the Plänterwald in Berlin, is to be reopened in stages. The old big wheel (built in 1989) is to be repaired and made rideable again and opened to the public. The steel structure of the wheel had already been dismantled and stored for testing purposes at the time of sbp’s planning.
sbp se (supporting structure), sbp sonne (mechanical and electrotechnical elements) and Realities:United were commissioned with the in-depth technical and design planning of the wheel and its immediate surroundings. Taking into account the results of the multi-year participation process and with reference to the historical location, the original idea of locating the big wheel directly on the banks of the Spree was abandoned at the client’s request and with reference to the historical location. Subsequently, the conceptual sketch was revised in a repetition phase and the wheel was planned at the old location, cantilevered over a newly designed water basin.
The design is characterized by the reuse of a large proportion of the existing elements of the big wheel, although the main supporting structure is strikingly and fundamentally redefined. Instead of the previous symmetrical arrangement on eight supports, the design is now clearly asymmetrical, consisting of a combination of four existing supports and two additional stay cables.
Finally, a functional tender was prepared and accompanied on the basis of the planning. The further design is to be provided directly by the commissioned construction company on the basis of the sbp planning.
